When students choose, mascot may be anything

VIRGINIA BEACH

What critter or emblem best represents the Renaissance Academy? Other city schools are Surfers, Seagulls - even politically tenuous Indians or Braves.

The new alternative school has colors picked out - green, black, white and silver - and its logo will be unveiled to the School Board on Tuesday. But there are no plans for a mascot.

Renaissance could take one of the old alternative-school mascots - maybe the Open Campus Owl or the Lighthouse from the Center for Effective Learning?

Or perhaps it could stick with the rebirth theme, though the Phoenix is already claimed by Kemps Landing Magnet School.

The opportunity to pick a new mascot doesn't come around too often.

Diamond Springs Elementary opened this fall on a campus with Newtown Elementary and Bettie F. Williams Elementary, where the mascot is an Eagle. Diamond Springs became the Eaglets and Newtown dropped Road Runner in favor of Eagles, a tried-and-true mascot favored by eight Beach schools.

Letting the student body choose can have interesting results. Green Run Elementary's founding group of youngsters chose Gremlins when the school opened in 1976. There's a cute, fuzzy gremlin similar to Gizmo in the 1984 movie - not the mean little monster - on visitor's badges today.

The moniker was at risk recently, but a voting rematch left the Gremlin with a narrow victory over a Grizzly challenger.

Renaissance, which will be equipped with the latest technology and environmentally sustainable features, could go futuristic.

But the mascot should have staying power. The kids at Alanton have been Astros since the late 1970s.

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com.